A petition calling for another general election has ‘no chance’ of influencing the timing of the next vote even if it was signed by tens of millions of people, experts said today.

The ‘Call a General Election’ petition on the Parliament website was posted by pub owner Michael Westwood and complains that Sir Keir has ‘gone back on promises’.

It was shared by acting legend Michael Caine this morning, and has also been fuelled by Elon Musk and Donald Trump.

Despite its massive popularity, constitutional experts consulted by MailOnline said it would not change the timing of the next national poll.

Gavin Phillipson, a Professor of Law at the University of Bristol who specialises in public protest, said: ‘This petition may have some political impact, in the sense of getting some media coverage and being cited by the Opposition in Parliament to try and embarrass the Government.

‘But it has no chance of making any difference to the timing of the next election, which currently does not need to be held until July 2029.

‘While the next election may well end up being called a little earlier than that, an early election can only occur as a result of a request from the Prime Minister to the King to dissolve Parliament.

‘Hence this petition may have some political salience but it will have no practical or constitutional effect.’

Petitions that hit 100,000 signatures can trigger a debate in Westminster Hall, but after this point there is no additional threshold that generates a response.

Thom Brooks, Professor of Law and Government at Durham University’s Law School and an expert in British constitutional law, said the petition would be unlikely to have any practical outcome even if it was signed by tens of millions of people.

‘Petitions are an important opportunity for citizens to show a view about something,’ he said.

‘But given this comes so shortly after the election, I struggle to see what could practically happen.

‘The only number that is really relevant is when it hits 100,000 signatories. It wouldn’t matter really how many more than that it gets.’

Although signatories have to say they are UK citizens or residents and provide an email and postcode, there is not thought to be any other verification – risking the chance some of the signatories may actually be based abroad.

However, a source told MailOnline today that the bulk of the overseas signatures come from countries with large expat populations, such as Australia, Ireland, France and Canada.

Podcast host Jon Sopel shared a post claiming that the petition included signatories using fake postcodes on X and asked: ‘If a petition like this can be so easily manipulated, what is its point?’

Appearing on ITV’s This Morning, Sir Keir Starmer blamed ‘difficult’ decisions in the Budget for the huge backlash against his government.

He insisted the petition just reminded him that ‘very many people didn’t vote Labour’.

‘I’m not surprised many of them want a rerun,’ he said.

‘That isn’t how our system works. There will be plenty of people who didn’t want us in the first place.

‘So, what my focus is on is the decisions that I have to make every day.’

Polls have been showing that Labour has taken a massive hit from a torrid first four months in power.

An internal impact assessment last week revealed that removing the winter fuel allowance from millions of pensioners could push 100,000 more into poverty.

Big retailers have been sending a message that the £25billion employer NICs raid in the Budget will cost jobs and push up prices.

Meanwhile, ministers have been hit with bad economic news, with the economy struggling and inflation higher than hoped.

During his appearance with Cat Deeley and Andy Peters today, Sir Keir was challenged that pensioners, farmers and parents with 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥ren at private schools were furious.

He said he had made ‘tough but fair decisions’. ‘You have to make decisions,’ he said. ‘At the end of the day we inherited a broken economy…

‘As long as they are tough but fair I think people understand that.’

The petition reads: ‘I would like there to be another General Election.

‘I believe the current Labour Government have gone back on the promises they laid out in the lead up to the last election.’

Mr Westwood, who runs a pub, told the Express: ‘Not in my wildest dreams did I think this was going to take off like it has.’

Asked why he thinks the demand for a general election is resonating as much as it has, Mr Westwood said he believes voters feel ‘betrayed’ by Labour.

He explained: ‘The British public feel like they have been betrayed with the promises that were told in the lead up to the election and then what has been delivered since – it looks nothing like what was promised.

‘I think people have had enough, people have seen what’s happened over in America as well, and I think that’s had a knock on effect that, actually, if people stand together and vote then we can make a change.’